Crematory-carriage.



No. 643,837. Patented Feb. 20, I900.

P.'BEANSTON.

CREMATORY CARRIAGE.

' (Application filed June 5, 1899.)

4 Sheets-Sheet I.

(No Model.)

Tu: noams PETERS co. Photo-Luna, WASHINGTON. 04 c.

No. 643,837; Patented Feb. 20', I900. P. BEANSTON.

CREMATORY CARRIAGE.

(Application filed June 5, 1899.) (No Model.) Y 4 Sheets-Sheet 2.

1w: NORRIS F rrERs 0a., mowpma, wAsmuOT' cm q c.

No. 643,837. 7 I Patented Feb. 20, I900. P. BEANSTON.

GREMATOBY CARRIAGE.

(Application fil'ed June 5, 1899.) (No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 3.

THE uomzgs PETERS 20.. FHOTO LIYHO, WASHINGTON, a. y;

No. 643,837. Patented Feb. 20, I900 P. BEANSTON.

CREMATORY CARRIAGE.

(Application filed June 5, 1899.)

4 Sheets$heet 4,

(No Model.)

UNITED STATES PATENT omcE.

PETER BEANSTON, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR TO GEORGE R. FLETCHER, OF SAME PLACE.

CREMATORY-CARRIAGE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 643,837, dated February 20, 1900'.

Application filed June 5, 1899. Serial No. 719,399. (No model) To all whom it may concern:

Be it'known that I, PETER BEANSTON, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city and county of San Francisco, State of California, have invented an Improvement in Crematory-Carriages; and I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

Myinvention relates to a carriage which is designed for use in connection with a crematory-furnace; and it consists of lower and upper carriages, the first traveling .upon a permanent track to advance it to a certain point with relation to the furnace front, means for checking the lower carriage at this point and allowing the upper carriage to'move forward upon the lower one, so as to project the bodysnpport into the furnace, at which point the upper carriage is checked, means for lowering and depositing the body upon the supportingcradle, where it is to be destroyed, and means for returning the parts to their normal position. v

It also comprises details of construction,

which will be more fully ei'plained by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a general side elevation. Fig. 2 is a plan view. Fig. 3 is a rear end view.

0 Fig. 4 is a bottom perspective view of one end of the lower carriage. Fig. ,5 is a perspective view of the upper carriage. Fig. 6 is a similar View of the lower carriage and the tracks upon which it is movable. Fig. 7 is a sectional ele- 5 vation of the rear portion of the upper carriage, taken on the line to a: of Fig. 8. Fig. 8 is a plan view of the rear portion of one side of the upper carriage. Fig. 9 shows the supporting and brake-operating mechanism in the position when the upper carriage has just been started forward. Fig. 10 shows the position of the same parts ready to be drawn back again. I

The object of this invention is to provide a means for moving the body which is, to be cremated to a point within the furnace, depositing the body therein, retracting the carriage, and automatically restoring the parts to their normal position in readiness to receive another body.

The apparatus consists of a lower carriage 0, having wheels 0, upon which it is mounted, these wheels traveling in a depressed channel B, made in the floor of the room exterior to the furnace and in line therewith, so that the carriage may be advanced on its wheels toward the furnace.

Upon the carriage G are rails or tracks c,and upon these tracks the wheels 9 of the upper carriage are adapted to travel.

The main frame of the upper carriage is shown at G, and upon this is supported the upper independentlymovable portion G which is connected with the part G by links H, pivoted to both parts, so that by advancing the upper part G in one direction with re lati-on to the lower part it will he raised until the links H stand in a vertical position, where they are locked by mechanism to be hereinafter described, and in which position the ap- 7o paratus is in readiness to receive the body. When moved in the opposite direction, the device acts like a parallel-ruler, allowing the frame G2 to be depressed and caused to ap proach closelyto the part G of the carriage. This is done after the upper carriage has been projected into the furnace, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, and is for the purpose of depositing the body upon the cradle A within the furnace, where it is to be cremated.

a is a door which closes the mouth of the furnace, and this door is opened by sliding upwardly while the carriage is passing into the furnace and depositing its burden and is closed as soon as the carriage has been retracted,the lower edge resting upon the seat a.

As the intense heat of the furnace makes it necessary to operate all this apparatus with great rapidity and smoothness, mechanism has been devised by which the various opero ations are automatically performed. The first part described relates to the means for moving the two cars in unison when they are first moved forward toward the furnace. In order to effect this, a bar 0 extends across the lower-carriage frame 0, and a latch I, having a hook 2", is fulcrumed to the side of the upper car, so that when in proper position the hook t" will engage the projecting end of the bar 0 In this position when the upper car is pushed forward it will carry the lower car along with it until it reaches a point where it is desired to stop the lower car and to continue the movement of the upper car. .Vhen this point is reached, the latch I is lifted by means of a lug i, projecting from the side of the latch I, which travels up an incline 1), formed on the side I) of the channel B, (shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 6,) thus disengaging the latch and allowing the upper car to continue its movement.

In order to check the lower car when it has moved to the proper distance forward, I have shown brake mechanism which consists of stationary blocks having the inner faces inclined toward each other, and upon the side of the car are hinged the swinging brakeshoes c pivoted as shown at 0, Figs. 4 and 6. These brake-shoes have slotted channels formed in them, as shown plainly, Figs. 4 and 6, and into these channels project pins f from the levers F, pivoted to the car, as shown at f. lVhen these levers are in their normal position, the brake-shoes 0 lie parallel with the sides of the car-frame C; but before they reach the point where the car is to stop the brake-shoe has been moved outwardly by the action of the lever F, so that it also stands at an incline, and it will thus bind and be locked between the stationary brake blocks b previously described. At this instant the upper car, which has been locked to the lower car, is released by the incline b and allowed to proceed on its forward movement.

The means for operating the brahe-shoesc are the levers F and rocker-arms e, mounted upon a shaft E, which is journaled beneath the car, as shown in Fig. 4. A lever-arm d is fixed to this shaft and is connected with a lever D, which extends longitudinally in a channel 0 made along the center of the lower car C. A wheel L, carried by the upper car, travels upon the surface of this lever and normally keeps it pressed down and the brake-shoe a extended until the car has been checked, as previously described.

The rails or tracks 0 of the carriage 0 project to a considerable distance from the front or wheels of the body 0, and these rails extend into the furnace proper when the car has been checked in the position shown in Fig. l, and the upper car has likewise a corresponding proj ectingportion of the upper framework G upon which projecting portion the body is carried at such a height that when the upper car has been moved forward to its farthest limit upon the lower car these projecting sup.- ports will stand far into the furnace and above the cradle A. This port-ion being then lowered by its movement upon the links H, the body will be deposited upon the cradle and the part G depressed sufiiciently to allow it to be withdrawn, leaving the bodysupported in the cradle. As soon as this part has been withdrawn from the furnace to the rcarmost limit upon the lower carriage the two carriages are then retracted in unison to the rearmost position and restored to their normal position.

The connection of the two carriages on their return is effected by means of a hook-lever J upon the opposite side of the carriage G, fulcrumed as shown atj, which lever is engaged by a pin 9 upon the upper frame G, as shown in Fig. '7, and is thus normally raised out of contact with the transverse bar 0 while the framework G remains in its highest position; but as soon as this framework has been thrown forward and depressed about the links II the hook endj of the lever J is allowed to drop, so that when the upper car is drawn backward upon the lower car the hook j of the lever J, Fig. 5, will engage the end of the bar 0 which is fixed to the lower carriage, and both carriages will thus be drawn back. \Vhen the part G2 of the upper carriage is again raised to its highest position by turning about the links H, the pin 9 will contact with the lever J and will raise the hook end and disengage it from the bar c leaving the parts in readiness for another forward engagement. There is also an incline Z2 in the side of the channel B opposite to b, which raises the hook j similar to the action of 1) upon the hook 2, previously described. When the car has reached its rcarmost position, the part G being still depressed as it-left the furnace, the part is raised and restored to its normal position by means of a lever K, fulcrumed to the part G of the upper carriage, as shown at k, and links connect the lever K with lugs. on the part G so that the movement of the lever backward raises the part G in an arc of a circle about the pivotal points of the links H. \Vhen the carriage has thus been restored to its position, it is locked by means of a pawl S, having a groove or channel at the front and slidable upon the plates g and arm T, which is fulcrumed, as shownat t, and has a shoulder 6 at the front end, against which the front of the pawl S abuts when the lever K has been drawn back, so as to allow it to thus engage the shoulder i.

The latch is held in position to engage the front end of the pawl S by means of a projection t upon the lower side,which rests upon a corresponding lug of the part c of a swinging arm V, which is fulcrumed to the car.- riagc G, as shown at 1;. In the front end of this lever V is pivoted a wheel or roller 1), as shown in Figs. '7 and 8. This roller travels upon the lower car, which has a raised incline 0 toward the front end, Fig. 7, and the roller runs up this incline e when the carriage G has reached its farthest forward position on the carriage C, and thus tilts the lever V, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 7, so that it is disengaged from the shoulder and the latter is allowed to drop, as also shown in dotted lines, until the shoulder t is flush with or below the level of a curved guideplate g. The latch being thus depressed, the lever S is then allowed to slide forward over IIO this guide portion g and the lever K moves forward, and the part G of the frame of the upper carriage is moved forward and downward in the arc of a circle about its supporting-links, as previously described. When the car has been moved backward, the wheel 12', traveling down the incline 0 reaches the top of the carriage 0 again, upon which it moves backwardly until the car has reached its rearmost position. Then the pull upon the lever K, which raises the part G to its highest position, also withdraws the pawl S, the grooved channel 8 of whichat the front end slides over the guide 9 and is withdrawn behind the shoulder t, the lug 12 having been returned to a position to support the part i of the latch and raise it above the plates g as soon as the wheel 1) had passed down the incline 0 Upon the side of the lever K is a pawl 10 (shown in Fig. 5,) and thispawl engages the head at of a latch-leverN to preventanyfurther movement rearwardly of the lever K and the carriage G This carriage is thus locked in place by the two latches S and k .As previously stated, the wheel L of the upper carriage travels upon the top of the lever D in the slot 0 of the lower carriage and maintains it in the depressed position, which forces the brake-shoes c to stop the lower car at the end of its forward movement. The Wheel L is journaled in a forked arm Z, the upper end of which is fixed to a bar 10 which extends between the levers is, there being a pair of these levers, as shown in Fig. 5, each connecting with one side of the frame G When the upper carriage G has reached the forward end of its travel, it is stopped by means of a buffer W, which strikes against a stop-plate 0 Fig. 7, fixed upon the lower car, and when the upper car G has reached this point of advance it is also checked and locked by means of the inclined lugs 6 Fig. 2, which are fixed just exterior to the door a of the furnace.

The upper car has brake-shoes Q hinged to it at g in the same manner that the brakeshoes of the lower car are hinged to it, and these upper brake-shoes are actuated by pins 7*, traveling in longitudinal guide-slots of the shoes g These pins project from fulcrumed levers R, the fulcrum-pins of which are at r. The inner ends of these levers are connected with rocker-arms 0, fixed to a rockshaft 0, which thus act to diverge and open out the brake-shoes in position to be checked when the canreaches its forward position. The brake-shoes are closed in parallel with the sides of the car to allow it to commence its rearward movement by the action of the latch-lever N, which is fixed to the rock-shaft O and which when it reaches its rearmost position engages with a latch m carried by the fork M, fulcrumed at m to the movable platform There are two of these forks, one

at each side, as shown in Fig. 5, and each has a wheel or roller m journaled at the lower end and adapted to travel in the channeltracks 0 of the lower carriage 0.

Upon the arms M are the upwardly-projecting latching-lugs m and these are beveled at the front, so that the tilting of the lever M will cause the head of the latch Nto rise over the lug and drop behind it. This tilting takes place when the upper-carriage frame G has reached its rearmost movement on the carriage 0, when the wheels m will run up the inclines c in the channels 0 and being thus raised will tilt the forks M to engage the latch, as previously described.

P arelever-arms one end of each of which is fixed to one of the rock-shafts O and the other ends are upturned, as shown at p. In the upperends of these upturned portions are pins 19 Q Q are lever-arms fulcrumed as shown at q and having pins q extending across between the two parts of each lever, so that the upturned ends p of the levers P are movable between the two parts of the levers Q. The

' opposite ends of the levers Q carry the wheels or rollers (1 which are journaled to them and which travel upon the platform of the carriage 0 below.

lVhen the upper carriage has reached the end of its return travel, the platform g strikes against the bumpers c on carriage O and the wheel m'will travel up the incline 0 thus throwing the head at forward and allowing the arm N to drop with its lower shoulder n behind the head m and this allows the handle-bar to be thrown back and its pawl to ride over shoulder 'it until the lower part of plate 10 strikes the frame G and rests upon it. This secures the load from dropping backward, while the pawl S guards against a forward falling of the load. When in this position, the Wheels g lie in the depressions 0,

made in the top of carriage O. This allows the' levers Q and P to hang down or be depressed, and consequently withdraws the brake-shoes 9 As soon as the carriages are moved forward the wheels (1 are raised out of their depressions c and travel upon the top of carriage O. This causes the said levers to be raised, and through their connection with rock-shaft O and levers R the brake-shoes are thrown out and held there until they again engage the stops b at the end of the forward movement of the carriage, the handle-bar K being thus thrown forward, and the lugs g attached to the under side of G are carried downward with it, striking the pins 19 and so forcingleverPdo\vnward,thus acting through shaft 0 to retract the brake-shoes. The flexible attachment of lever Q to Pallowsof this movement, as shown. On reaching the depressions 0 again the rollers q' drop into them, the pins q resting on the upper face of recess p ready to push lever P up as soon as the rollers g leave their depressions, and this throws out the brakes again, as beforedescribed.

The brake-shoes c of the lower carriage are released by the throwing forward of the 1eyer-handle K when delivering the body on the cradle. This movement throws the roller L up and away from lever D; but the little rollers X, attached to the bottom of the upper carriage and resting on their-inclines (V, which form part of the lever D, are still depressing the latter until the upper carriage is now moved backward, which will take the rollers X along and down the inclines, therefore releasing lever D entirely, and its spring d will throw it up, and consequently release the brakes. Vhen drawn back, this roller projects outside the carriage C and is only brought into action again when the upper carriage has proceeded far enough on carriage 0 till it strikes lever D again.

As plainly shown in Figs. 9 and 10, p is a hook-shaped piece pivoted to the lever P, as shown at 4, and having the hook or extension 3, which is pressed upon by the spring 2, fixed to the top of the lever P. Fig. 9 shows the position of the parts when the carriage is moved forward, the lever P being raised by the roller g riding upon the surface of O, and it is held in this raised position by the pivotpin q and by the pin g, which drops into the recess 19 of the hook-shaped piece 19, the latter being forced into position to receive it by the pressure of the spring 2. This position forces the brakes outwardly. When the lug g strikes the hook p to move it forward, as shown in Fig. 10, it releases the pin (1 from the recess or notch 19, and this allows the lever Q to drop. l/Vhen this occurs, it also carries the lever P along with it, and this causes the brakes to be withdrawn, as shown in Fig. 10. WVhen the carriage has again reached its initial point, the lug g has been moved away from the end of the hook p, and this allows the spring 2 to press upon the upturned end 3 of said hook and bring the part 19 to its normal position. The roller 1 will then drop into the recess a, and this raises the pin g on the arm Q, so that it is again in position to drop into the recess 19, and the parts are ready for another movement.

Having thus described my invention, what Iclaim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A device for depositing bodies in a crematory-furnace consisting of a carriage, a track in line with the furnace-door, upon which the wheels of said carriage travel, a brake mechanism including brake-shoes carried by the cars and fixed brake-surfaces in the path of the shoes by which the carriage is checked when it reaches the end of its forward movement, a second carriage traveling upon the tory-furnace consisting of a carriage mount ed uponwheels and movable in line with the mouth of the furnace, a second carriage traveling upon the top of the first carriage and having a support for the body projecting from its front, a brake mechanism by which the lower carriage is arrested at the end of its forward movement, and a second brake mech anism by which the upper carriage is arrested at the end of its independent forward movement upon the lower carriage, a support for the body mounted upon one of the carriages and mechanism for depressing the support so as to deposit the body upon the cradle within the furnace.

3. A device fordepositing bodies in a crematory-furnace consisting of two carriages, one mounted to travel upon the top of the other, and both movable in line with the furnacedoor, a brake mechanism by which the lower carriage is checked when it has reached the end of its forward movement, asecond brake mechanism by which the upper carriage is checked when it has moved the length of its travel upon the lower carriage, a support for the body mounted upon the upper carriage and projecting from its front so that the final forward movement of the upper carriage projects said support and its burden into the furnace, and mechanism by Whichthe support may be depressed so as to deposit a body upon the cradle within the furnace and allow the support to be withdrawn below the level of the cradle.

4. A device for depositing bodies in a crematory-furnace consisting of two cars, one traveling upon the other and both movable in line with the door of the furnace so that the first car may be advanced to a point near the furnace-door and the second advanced upon the first to project a body-support into the furnace, brakes consisting of hinged wings upon the sides of the two cars, and means for diverging said brake-shoes to stand at an angle with the car, and correspondingly-beveled lugs fixed in the path of the brake-shoes and between which the brake shoes are compressed when each carsnccessively arrives at the end of its movement, and means whereby the brake-shoes are retracted and disengaged from the lugs when the cars are to be withdrawn.

5. In a device for depositing bodies in a crematory-furnace, a car movable in line with the mouth of the furnace, a second car movable upon the top of the first car having a forwardly-projecting support for the body whereby the two cars are advanced together to a point near the mouth of the furnace, movable brake-shoes connecting with the lower car and fixed lugs with which said brake-shoes engage to stop the lower carat the end of its forward movement and allow the upper car to be projected so as to deposit its burden upon the cradle within the crematory, and movable brake-shoes upon the upper car, and fixed lugs or stops with which said shoes engage at the IIO end of the forward movement of said upper car.

6. In a device for depositing bodies in a crematory, superposed carriages, a track upon which the lower carriage moves in line with the furnace, a track upon said car upon which the upper car is advanced with relation thereto to deposit the body within the furnace, brakeshoes hinged to the side of the lower car so as to be spread out or drawn in against the sides of the car, a mechanism by which said brakeshoes are actuated, consisting of a rockershaft, a depression-lever and connections by which said shaft is turned, levers actuated by the turning of said shaft and engaging the brake-shoes so as to separate them into divergent positions with relation to the car, and fixed lugs upon each side of the line of travel of the car between which said shoes are compressed when the car reaches the end of its forward movement.

7. A car having brake-shoes hinged to the sides, with mechanism for expanding said shoes into divergent positions so as to engage with fiXed lugs upon each side of the line of travel of the car, a depression-lever hinged to the car, a wheel carried by the upper car traveling upon the top of said lever when the upper car is advanced whereby said lever is retained in its depressed condition, mechanism between the lever and the brake-shoes by which the shoes are maintained in their divergent position to engage the fixed lugs when the car has reached the end of its forward movement, and inclines carried by the lever by which the pressure-wheel is raised and the mechanism actuated to retract the brakes against the sides of the car and release them from the stops so that the car may be returned to its first position.

8. In a device for depositing bodies in a crematory-furnace, a'car adapted to move in line with the furnace opening, and means for checking said car at the end of its forward movement, a second car traveling upon the top of the first car so as to advance thereon after the first car has been checked and means for checking the second car at the end of its advance, a support for the body projecting in front of the second car, hinged parallel links connecting the support and the upper car whereby the support may be raised to receive the body when the links are in a vertical position and depressed to deposit the body on a cradle within the furnace when the links are turned about their pivot-points, a lever and a connected mechanism at the rear of the carriage whereby the movement of the support to raise or depress it is effected.

9. In a device of the character described, a carriage including upper and lower members with hinged parallel links by which the upper member may be raised or lowered with relation to the lower member, levers fulcrumed to the lower member and links connecting them with the upper member, levers pivoted to the lower member of the carriage with stops upon the movable ends, and arms fulcrumed to the main levers with the free ends adapted to engage the said stops to retain the upper portion of the carriage in its elevated position.

10. The two-part carriage with the'upper portion movable about parallel pivoted-links, and a fulcrumed lever by which it is raised or lowered,in combination with'a stop fulcrumed to the main portion of the carriage, an arm fulcrumed to the main lever and engaging the stops, and a tilting arm and latch by which the stop is held in engagement with the arms or released therefrom.

11. The two-part carriage superposed and movable upon a lower carriage, parallel pivoted links connecting the two parts of the upper carriage, leversand connecting-links by which the upper portion is raised or depressed, a stop mechanism by which it is retained in its raised position,fulcrumed arms and latches by the movement of which the stop mechanism is engaged or disengaged,and wheels journaled to the arm, adapted to support the arm when traveling upon the lower car and to be depressed and disengage the stop mechanism when the upper carriage reaches the end of its forward travel.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

PETER BEANSTON. Witnesses:

S. H. NoURsE, GEO. H. STRONG. 

